Telus Introduces New “Early Device Upgrade” Fee

This week, Telus has introduced a new upgrade policy that allows Telus customers to renew their contract early and get a new device earlier than normal, however it comes with a fee.

Normally, Telus customers must wait until the end of their current contract term to receive promotional pricing on a handset renewal/upgrade. Now, by paying the “Early Device Upgrade” fee, users can get a new device at promotional pricing.

Early Device Upgrade fee

This new early upgrade fee is calculated using the discount you originally received when your contract began and then multiplying the number of months remaining on your contract. In other words, the longer you wait, the lower your fee will be, but if you want to upgrade early, you pay regardless.

The new upgrade fee first depends on which device you have and then on how many months are remaining in your current contract term. Let’s look at some examples:

• If you have a regular Telus device, a “feature phone” such as the Elevate, then your Early Device Upgrade Fee is $5.00 x number of months remaining in the contract. On top of is, you pay the promotional pricing for your intended device on a 3-year term.

• If you have a “smartphone”, such as a Blackberry, then your Early Device Upgrade Fee is $10.00 x number of months remaining in the contract. On top of is, you pay the promotional pricing for your intended device on a 3-year term.

• Lastly, if you have a “premium” phone, such as an iPhone, then your Early Device Upgrade Fee is $15.00 x number of months remaining in the contract. On top of is, you pay the promotional pricing for your intended device on a 3-year term.

So if you had a regular Telus phone with 8 months left in the contract and wanted to upgrade early to an iPhone, you would pay:

• Months remaining: 8 months x $5.00 = $40.00
• New device cost: iPhone 4 16GB (regular 3-year price) = $159.00
• Total paid: $199.00 on a 3-year Voice & Data plan

The main exceptions to this new policy are:

• All corporate and business accounts are ineligible
• Consumer accounts within six months of the start of their contract are ineligible
• Any accounts with Credit Limit Protection are ineligible

So what do you think of this policy? Good? Bad?

Thanks to Billy for the tip!